There are a lot of different animals people have as pets. Dogs and cats are familiar to most of us. Many also have rabbits, the famous fluffy carrot eater.
Even though these tiny creatures are usually considered cute, there are many rabbit owners who end up giving them away in the State of Idaho. Volunteer adoption coordinator Lyndsey Rasmussen with Remember Ruby Rabbit Rescue said they receive about 58 inquiry calls every month about taking rabbits in. She said the most common reason for giving their pets to the rescue is children get a rabbit for Easter and six months later the owners give up wanting to care for them.
“Rabbits are these prey animals, so they are not going to be cute cuddly animals like we see in the media,” she said. “There is a lot of misconception around that.”
The other most common reason rabbit owners give them to Remember Ruby Rabbit Rescue is because they get two rabbits from a breeder thinking they are both the same sex, which may not be true.
“Rabbits can breed every 30 days by the time they are three months, so it is really important that you either have separate sexes separated or you get your animals fixed,” Rasmussen said.
Remember Ruby Rabbit Rescue was created in 2015 by Elise Church after she rescued her first rabbit at the Eastern Idaho State Fair. The organization has grown through the years and there are currently 15 volunteers and two locations.
There is an Idaho Falls location at 1561 W. Sunnyside Rd. and a Boise Branch rescue. They take care of their 180 rabbits, which they spay and neuter before they find them a new family. Rasmussen said the best thing to do before you adopt a rabbit is to learn about how to take care of them.